Experimental Neep Cake

Last week it was my turn to provide cake at work.  Usually I make two recipes as previously we have had a chocoholic faction and an anti-chocolate faction, or nut allergies but this time there weren't going to be many of us and I was away at a conference for a long day on Tuesday (cake happens on Thursdays).  So I only had time to make one cake.  And it had been a busy weekend, so I didn't get to practice.

I made a neep cake.  The principle is that the carrot in a carrot cake recipe can be replaced weight-for-weight with neep.  I used this recipe, although I used lemon juice rather than orange and made it in a loaf tin.  And with trepidation I took it into the office to impose it on my workmates.

At the meeting I confessed immediately that I had brought Experimental Neep Cake and everyone agreed to give it a shot.  The general consensus was that even though it tasted a bit neepy at first, it was indeed cake and not untasty.

There was hardly any left at the end of the meeting, so I'll take that as a good sign:

The last piece was taken home, where it was declared a bit too neepy to be allowed.

Now I hear you can do the same with other root vegetables...

Lent 2014 - Day 37

Flat Discipline

Last night we ate baked potatoes with salad, tuna mayonnaise and cheese.  Tasty stuff.  Tonight friends who moved out of the country are in town so we are meeting them in the pub for tea.  Never mind, eh?

Lone discipline

Out of practice at this malarkey.

Wearing

Khaki skirt (item 29) - it's a practical, comfortable workhorse with jeans-styling, which means POCKETS!  This makes me happy.  The generously cut flared A-line does hang strangely though, doesn't it?
Floral shirt (item 16) - Still not my favourite colours or a pattern that feels particularly 'me' and now that I see the lumpy silhouette it gives I don't know if I can put up with those things in the name of comfort (which it has).  We shall have to see if I will ever actually enact my regular threat to take this to a charity shop.

Footwear:  Purple not-leather mary-janes.  I liked these shoes, with their sturdy mary-jane styling and tiny little heel so much in brown that I bought them in purple too!  My tan and red mary-janes were supposed to replace them but I can't quite give them up yet.  Sometimes you just need a purple shoe that's easy on the feet but respectable looking.  Even if they now look decidedly shoddy.
Hosiery: All my nude tights are in the wash.  It's only the white and purple flowers that are saving this from not feeling like a spring outfit.

Ho hum, off to the pub.

Lent 2014 - days 24-36 catchup

So, I'm utterly rubbish at keeping up with myself in terms of recording my efforts.  But I have been efforting.

I've even managed to reconstruct what I was wearing for most of the last ten days.  Somehow I feel this is faintly ridiculous, and definitely too lame to count as a very mild superpower.  Less easy is remembering what I have eaten and cooked.

Flat discipline

We've received yet more vegetables.  We've eaten a fair amount of them, but I don't feel that we are quite as on top of things as we were, possibly due to tiring of potatoes as our main source of carbohydrate (or, as the beloved likes to think of it, stodge).  Things we have thought up to use our tatties and neeps include:

• Mash.  We have to hide the neeps in with other veggies, but it works.
• Gratin.  Layer 'em up with other veggies and cheese or cream.
• Risotto.  Not so much use for the tatties, but you can sneak a snatch of neep in there and you get let off the absence of tattie if you've used up the last few useable bits of last fortnight's kale.

In more exciting news, this most recent vegbox has included multiple salad greens which have made our lives vitamin filled and tasty.  And launched an excuse for prawn cocktail or coronation chicken when we see these things with yellow stickers on.

I have no idea how much meat or fish we have eaten but there seems to be a slight build-up in the freezer, so we will need to work through that at some point.

Lone discipline

I think this really has to be a handy table format.

So there you are.  I wore things.  I even wore things on day 27, I just can't remember or reconstruct what they were.

I managed to take a couple of photographs over the past 10 days, but only 2 or 3.  I shall post them below regardless.

Day 30 - complete with big, soft, floaty scarf.

Day 30 bonus what-I-wear-outside shot

Day 36.  Someone asked me if I had hurt my wrist.

So there we are.  Today is very minimal and I've resorted to those dark tights again.  I prefer this dress with a necklace but didn't put one on this morning.  I think I look a bit more exciting on my travels today as that means I add the trenchcoat and scarf above.

Lent 2014 - Day 22

Flat discipline

Stir-fry as planned last night, with the left-over sausages from Monday on the side.

Tonight everyone's in different places, so we're fending for ourselves.  I am contemplating a jacket potato with tuna mayonnaise once I get home from a lecture at work this evening.

Lone discipline

Bit of a repeat today, I'm afraid.  Hopefully that won't be the norm now that my list is basically set.

Normal-ish phone-holding achieved!

Wearing

Plum pocket skirt (item 2):  It's still doing fairly well, but some pilling is starting to become evident where my bag hangs against my hip.  And I forgot to put a slip on this morning, so it's sticking to my tights like nobody's business.

Cream jumper (item 1):  After several sunny but chilly days I have learnt my lesson and am feeling really rather cosy today.  But I so want it to be spring and just don't have the right clothes on my list for that.  Well, we shall see.  Perhaps it will be possible to tweak my colours using only accessories.  It's a challenge for the rest of Lent, certainly.

Footwear:  Tan Mary Janes.  I've climbed 8 storeys-worth of stairs in these so far today and no misadventures so far.  I'm not certain that the fit is exactly right but my feet aren't complaining today.

Accessories: purple scarf - this has been borrowed from my girlfriend (her mother gave us one each for christmas but mine is pink and wasn't anywhere to be seen this morning) and is so soft and thin, but large enough (and made from I-know-not-what) that it's cosy too.  In the winter I'm known for wearing scarves draped around like this, but perhaps more so in my student days when I spent many days studying in large draughty spaces.

Purple earrings - stolen from my mother who kept getting them caught in her clothing.  Not really the right kind of purple, but never mind.

Ring stack - cheap as the proverbial chips, this ring stack used to have different surface textures but the shiny ones have dulled and the textured one has buffed so now they all look the same.  And the plating is wearing through so the coppery metal beneath shows through.

Today I'm wearing different glasses.  And I've just noticed that one of the lenses is starting to make a break for freedom.  I prefer my usual pair for comfort but these are a bit more subtle (I think the impression they give in the photograph of slipping off my nose is because my head is tilted down looking at the phone screen to line up the shot).  Perhaps a wee post about my glasses-wearing is in order.  They might even be interesting enough to warrant such a thing!

Lent 2014 - Days 20 & 21

Flat discipline

There were salad leaves in last week's veg delivery.  We have eaten most of them now and they were peppery and delicious.

Last night's tea was yellow-sticker sausages and yet more roasted vegetable cubes.  I could live quite happily on roasted vegetable cubes, apart from the oil levels.

Tonight the plan is a stir-fry.  I may allow yesterday's final two sausages to creep their way into the mix.

Lone discipline

Work is busy, so no photographic proof, but right now it's all about comfort and temperature regulation.  Also, seem to have left phone somewhere.  No idea where.

Day 20

Wearing

Smocked jersey dress (item 12):  Oh yes, all about the comfies.
Striped jersey blazer (item 13):  Still a favourite.  Just has that edge of structure that you need when you basically propose to wear nightwear to work.

Accessories:  knitted rose-patterned tights for the warmies, no jewellery for the easies.
Footwear:  Red Mary Janes.  Smart shoes to make me feel grown up while wearing jammies to work.

Day 21

Wearing

Brown spotty dress (item 14):  Still comfortable, just a little more work.
Aubergine long cardigan (item 28):  Big and warm.  I can't remember how long I have had this beast, but it gets trotted out throughout the cooler seasons, or when I want to feel like I'm wearing a bathrobe but look like I made an effort and picked something dramatic.  The brown/aubergine combination is interesting and rather autumnal, but there you go.

Accessories:  Garnet celtic cross necklace, pink enamel heart studs.  These items do not go together.  I am wearing them regardless.
Footwear:  Knee-ish high brown boots.  'Nuff said.

And I've reached 29 items used.  Only one more to add and I feel like I ought to keep the spot in reserve in case of emergency or laundry failure.  It's an interesting list that I've put together, because I haven't really thought about it as a list, just listed the things I have happened to choose.  One or two items may end up biting me.  It seem sot be a fairly balanced list so far, comprising 5 dresses, 7 bottoms (skirts/trousers), 9 tops and 5 over-layers (7 if you count the 2 tops that do double duty), but I'm not sure how many outfits that means I have to choose from.  I suppose I could wear the owl tunic with the patterned leggings and the red cardigan, but I don't think  I would choose to do so.  There might be some benefit in considering all the possible combinations this list could give me though, I do get so easily bored with a limited clothing repertoire.

Lent 2014 - Day 17

Flat discipline

Mmm, more roast veggies!  This time with this week's meat in the form of pork loin steaks grilled with homemade applesauce and cheese.  This week's vegbox contained another neep and a white turnip.  I have no idea what to do with a white turnip, after a friend got confused and tried to mash it like a neep, ending up with a strange gloopy mush.  Ho hum, there's bound to be an answer, and it might well be roasting.

Tonight there will be a birthday-celebrating trip to Pizza Express.

Lone discipline

Wearing

Brown linen skirt (item 23):  This was a gift from a much skinnier friend so it sits rather high.  But that means that the stitched down pleats fill out at about the right point on my hips and the length isn't awkward.  It's a comfortable casual skirt and although it's faded has given years of use to me and its previous owner.
Peasant T-shirt (item 9):  It's simple and less fitted than much of my usual fayre, but the neckline gathering and button detailing (when it's not sitting annoyingly squint) do add a certain something.
Pinkstripe blazer (item 24):  Wow!  This blazer is nothing like as eye-watering in real life.  This one makes me happy and is a great springtime outer layer.  It does have the inevitable sleeve-length issue, but I don't think I'll ever be brave enough to unpick the cuffs and see if it's possible.  The lapel piping means that the outer could be finished with piping too, allowing the sleeves to gain an inch each, which I think would be about right in this case.

Footwear:  Due to a combination of not having any thin tights clean and it being a lovely sunny day, I needed footwear that would hide socks and turned yet again to these trusty boots.  If I'm cycling for errands later, I may switch to tights and then decide whether to change or not change to different shoes.
Accessories:  Stone cross necklace - picked up at a clothes swap.  Mirrors the tone of the boots.
Tribal mask earrings - brought back from South Africa for me by family.  Don't get out much.

It's only the second day of Spring, but I'm barelegged!  I don't know if this will last the day.  It's fine in the office, but the walk in was a bit brisk.  I should have worn earmuffs because it really  only was my ears that were uncomfortable, having my feet covered meant that although it was chilly around my knees it wasn't too cold.

Lent 2014 - Days 11-15

Summary time!

Flat discipline

The eating's been good.  Lots of veggies, such that when the new box arrived yesterday we only had a handful of potatoes and half a neep left to go on the last one (although we did give away a neep to keep on top of everything).  There was leftover chicken curry with roast vegetables on Monday night and Tuesday night included a creamy-leeky-cheesy-cabbage thing, more roasted vegetables and some fried mushrooms.  We can't get enough of mushrooms in our house.  Wednesday night there was an AGM to attend with free pizza, so the minimal meat thing went out the window in deference to the real vegetarians present.  And tonight there will be Pork with further roast vegetables.

Lone Discipline

It's strange how difficult I find it to remember to photograph myself when I'm not at work.  And I was dashing up and down the country this weekend so in my tired state since I've also failed to take photographs.  Therefore, hereafter follows a handy list to record what I was wearing, although I do not claim 100% accuracy for Tuesday.

• Saturday:  Patterned leggings, floral skater dress, cabled hoodie (items 20, 7 and 8)
• Saturday evening bonus outfit:  Hawaiian sundress (item 22)
• Sunday:  Green cords, orange vest, longsleeve checked shirt (items 17, 18 and 19)
• Monday:  Patterned leggings, floral skater dress, cabled hoodie (items 20, 7 and 8)
• Tuesday:  Brown linen skirt, floral shirt, striped jersey blazer (items 23, 16 and 13)
• Wednesday:  Plum pocket skirt, orange vest, striped jersey blazer (items 2, 18, and 13)

So there you are.  Some of these might have been odd combinations - not achieving laundry over a weekend will do that for you.  Perhaps they'll see the light again, especially as I get nearer the end of Lent and get bored of my usual outfits.  I am starting to try and mix my outfits around so I don't get restricted by the 30-item limit.  We shall see how this pans out.

Lent 2014 - Day 10

Friday!  It's been a busy week of extra-curricular activities and a new job, so I'm a bit frazzled and looking forward to a day off on Monday.

Flat discipline

Chicken and root vegetable curry last night.  Very tasty, used up a fair amount of vegbox veggies and there are enough leftovers for Sunday tea once we get back from this weekend's jaunt.

Lone discipline

Different work bathroom for variety.  Also !Spiderhands.

Wearing

Green corduroy trousers (item 17):  A truly wonderful pair of cords.  Nice and long in the rise, just the right length to wear with slight heels (36", in case you were wondering, from Long Tall Sally) and soft and comfortable.  They are that fairly recent slim bootcut and I generally like a bit more flare, but there's no denying they work nicely with today's boots.  These are my go-to trousers for casual but not mucky days.
Orange vest (item 18):  A basic vest that's on the big side of just right.  That's all I can really say about it.  I rediscovered it in my wardrobe last night and thought it was a good springtime option for today's outfit, where otherwise I would have worn white and been very nearly monochrome.  It's not as strong an orange as I usually gravitate towards, but I'm prepared to take on most shades of orange.
Checked longsleeve shirt (item 19):  Another item from that tall-specialist clothing company, bought at the same time as the cords and often paired with them.  Being brushed cotton it is nice and warm as a cold-weather under layer but also serves well as a warm-weather outer layer.

Footwear:  It's those boots again.  Still not polished though.
Accessories:  Ampersand necklace - I do like an ampersand.
I can't remember if I was wearing earrings.  Probably not.

This outfit was on the cusp of being too warm for a lovely sunny day, especially as I was cycling about rather than walking.  The uphill on the way to work was a bit of a struggle and it took me a while to cool down once I arrived, but the remainder of my journeys I took nice and slowly and they were not unpleasant.  I do need to get on my bicycle more, but I am wary of becoming a fair-weather cyclist.  Being a car part-owner has made me much more likely to cram activities into days rather than take the time to get to them on two wheels.  And I walk to work, because it takes about the same length of time, once you factor in the bicycle faffing at either end.  If I lived further I would cycle more often.

Lent 2014 - Day 9

Flat discipline

Veggie pizza last night.  Tasty stuff but no impact on the vegbox front.  There will be new vegetables next week, so hopefully tonight's root vegetable and chicken curry will help a bit.  Tomorrow I plan (if I can fit it in around some Very Important Baking) to parboil some diced veggies so they are ready to go for future roasting purposes.  If there was going to be time we would roast them before putting them in the curry tonight, so hopefully having ready-to-roast veggies to hand will help them creep into more meals.

Lone discipline

Back to work mirror photographs so I can catch up with myself!



Wearing

Plum skirt (item 2):  Still loving these pockets!  I'm trying not to overuse them so that the skirt will keep its shape and so far it's still doing well.  Hopefully it will wash well too.
Floral shirt (item 16):  A new item for today.  I do like a 'proper' shirt, and while this doesn't quite count, it does at least have a collar and buttons all the way down the front.  There are also elasticated panels at the waist, so the fit's pretty good and it has little sleeves so my great long arms aren't an issue.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a great fan of blue (which this shirt is), but the purple and white flowers along with their greenery break that up to the extent that I'm happy wearing it every now and again.
Striped jersey blazer (item 3):  Oh, this is going to be a great favourite.  Someone actually asked me as I walked down a corridor today whether I was 'doing something professional' because the jacket-shape had fooled them into thinking I was dressed up.  I've photographed it today buttoned up and with the sleeves uncuffed, just for variety.  Having looked at photographs of it a bit I feel like it could carry a brooch and I don't often wear brooches so I'll have to look out something suitable.  Yet another reason to invest in blazer-type items, the brooch-deployment opportunities.

Footwear:  Tan-ish heeled Mary Janes - yet more polishing required.  I really should get on that.  The slightly dusky tone of these shoes is hard to see in the photograph and I think it makes them hard to deploy, but I go on wearing them, so it seems to be working.
Accessories:  Iolite necklace - a gift from my parents after my GCSE exams, I believe.  And I think it was purchased in or near Corfe Castle in Dorset, but don't quote me on that.
Hematite earrings - I nearly went with a pair of purple-stone dangly earrings today but decided that these little hematite drops with their delicate wires and tiny little hearts worked better with the slightly dainty feel of the necklace

It's an interesting choice to add an item of clothing that I don't truly love to the selection for Lent, and we'll see if it comes back to bite me, but hopefully it will offer a chance to think about the value of the items in my wardrobe that aren't favourites.  And this shirt has served a purpose previously - I was wearing a very smart dress to attend an interview but didn't want it widely known that I was sloping off to that, so this shirt reduced it to just a fairly smart pencil skirt and I looked relatively normal all day.  We'll see if I can come up with some interesting ways to wear it before Easter and whether I grant it a stay of execution or send it on its way.

Lent 2014 - Day 3

Flat discipline

Well, last night we ate tortelloni as expected, but I was late home from work due to being a bit dopey and so the additional vegetables went out the window.  I'm fending for myself tonight so I'll have to make up for that.  Probably with some sort of leek-and-root-vegetable stir fry.

Lone discipline

Tried doing this with one hand.  Neither of my hands is steady enough.

Wearing

Owl tunic (item 5):  Again with the POCKETS.  I love this sale find from a few years ago.  It's comfortable and fits nicely and anyone I know will tell you the colours are so very 'me'
Flare jeans (item 6):  While all the denim on the planet right now seems to be skinny-skinny-skinny I shall hold onto these magnificently flared jeans.  But they are definitely tight at the moment.  I may or may not be using a hairband in this picture to reduce the amount they dig in by.  Not uncomfortably so, but the tunic's not so forgiving when it comes to muffin top and it isn't a look I like.

Footwear:  Tan leather ankle boots - I bought these the day I handed in my PhD.  They were a bit of a bargain too, if my memory hasn't failed me after 3ish years.  They could now do with new insoles and today are desperately in need of a polish.  It's only a matter of time before the wear on the heels becomes too much to work with (and I think they're past saving by a regular shoe repairer as it is)
Accessories:  Arm warmers - I chopped these down from a pair of tights that sprung a hole.  They're a great boon at this time of year because I can wear short sleeves and not freeze.  I'm on of those people who needs their wrists to be warm (and my neck, but today's tunic is just enough protection there) to feel comfortable.  Also, as previously mentioned, I have broad shoulders and long arms so arm warmers bridge the wrist gap sometimes.
Owl watch - you squeeze his ears and his wings spread to tell you the time from his belly.  How good is that!?! Or rather, how good would that be if I'd remembered that he needs a new battery.  Still a pretty pendant in any case.
Shell earrings - made these myself too!  Found some tiny little shells on a beach on Gigha late last summer and turned them into stud earrings.  Made a set of drop earrings and a necklace for my girlfriend's mum for Christmas from the same trip.

This is an outfit I enjoy. It's comfortable while standing and feels tall and strong walking.  There's also a slight '70s vibe which I think means that it will outlive the owl trend, or at least reflects my style rather than just the trend.

One of the interesting thins that I think will come out of this exercise is the identification of the care needs of my clothing and accessories.  Today I'm wearing boots that need two pieces of attention and a watch that doesn't work.  I can fix these.  I guess the fact that I haven't is symptomatic of an attitude of disposability which I have grown up into.  Or perhaps I care less for my clothes when I care less for my body.  Hopefully this lent I will gain a habit of maintaining and caring for my belongings more responsibly.

Lent 2014 - Day 2

Flat discipline

So, day 1's tea was leftover veggie risotto with roasted beetroot (the only vegbox item, unfortunately) and it was very tasty.  Tonight the plan is to eat proscuttio tortelloni with vegbox veg and red pesto.  New veggies arrived last night, including a HUGE turnip.  We might be blessing a neep-loving friend with that one this week!

 

Lone discipline



Oh yes, by Easter I shall be a master of the work-bathroom-mirror selfie.

Wearing:

Lambswool jumper (item 1):  I can't remember whether this was a charity shop or clothing swap find, but either way it's a cool-weather staple.  The fit is good, the length is good, I like the interaction between the neckline and my collarbones.  Only slight downside is that the sleeves don't quite come to my wrists, but that's what I get for being broad-shouldered and long-armed.  It doesn't bother me in this jumper because the sleeves are fairly close-fitting.
Plum skirt (item 2):  This is fairly new but it went straight into rotation for work because POCKETS!  Also it's drapey and soft and being a midi-length does a nice 'just below the knee' on my great long legs.  It is mostly polyester, has a weird faux-leather waistband and was very cheap (reduced to £5 IIRC) so we shall see how it stands up to regular use.

Footwear:  Brown leather boots.  These cost me £40, which is bonkers for leather, so I suspect they may turn out to be poorly made.  They're very comfortable with enough room in the foot for my sizeable feet and snug in the calf (ah, the calves of a Scottish dancer) due to elastic inserts.  They are, unfortunately, really too short.  Having a 34"-35" inseam I have long legs.  Visually (I've never measured) I think proportionally more of this extra length is in my lower legs.  So my legs are still going out when boot shafts start to come in.  The shafts on these boots measure about 14" and I feel like the proportions would be better on me with a 15" or 16" shaft.  It's still not enough to make me buy custom boots though.
Accessories:  Just a necklace today.  A silver enamel powder compact that I inherited from my great aunt, strung on a leather cord.  As it ties in a bow behind my neck I've been trying and failing all morning to make it sit just below the neckline of the jumper and sure enough, post photo-taking I have finally managed that!

I feel good about this outfit.  I am comfortable and the right temperature for the office.  Nothing needs messing with or tweaking when I stand up.  I will need to change out of at least the jumper in order to go dancing this evening, but that's par for the course.

Lent 2014

So, last thing on Tuesday night, as I was leaving work to head for pancakes after tea, someone asked me what, if anything, I was doing for Lent this year.  Now, I grew up in an independent church environment where having liturgical seasons or a church calendar was somewhat frowned upon as being legalistic, so I didn't observe Lent as a child.  I was also a bit wary of the way people would give up chocolate or tea as it seemed rather tokenistic and about their achievement rather than discipline and contemplation (of course, this view might have been coloured by my love of chocolate).

But my colleague was talking about giving up plastic.  About being more aware of her footprint on the earth.  And we got into a discussion about how ubiquitous plastic is and how a Lenten discipline shouldn't inconvenience others if at all possible.  I like the idea of giving up disposables but wasn't in time to get my head around it for Lent this year, so I had to keep thinking.  And now I think I have a couple of Lenten disciplines that I will be engaging in.

In concert with my flatmate

We will eat more simply.  This will involve endeavouring to make use of all the produce in our fortnightly organic vegetable delivery (without too much moaning about the sheer quantity of cabbage and turnip/swede this involves) and try to eat meat only once a week, likewise fish.

Sundays are traditionally feast days when you get a day off your discipline and in the spirit of not inconveniencing others, we won't make a fuss when we are visiting our friends as is our habit of a Sunday.  Midweek dinners are usually made and eaten at home, so there's no issue there and we can have our meat/fish nights on the days when we expect company.

Lone discipline

I want to think about my consumption and have decided to do this specifically in regard to my wardrobe.  So I won't be buying any new clothes/shoes/accessories until Easter.  And I am going to keep a log of what I wear, attempting to keep myself to 30 items of clothing but trying not to just cycle the same outfits round and around.

Exclusions

Underwear and hosiery - nuff said
Costumes/uniforms - if someone else decides what I am wearing (or I decide for a group what we will be wearing) those items don't count
Activity-specific items - swimwear, dance shoes

Undecided categories

Footwear - I don't think there are that many pairs of footwear in my regular rotation, but there's something about not being strict enough with my guidelines that worries me, like this should be a real challenge or sacrifice.  However, for the sake of my feet (which, after all, didn't sign up for this) I think I will observe but not restrict my footwear choices.
Outerwear - I think this is mostly determined by the weather so shouldn't be counted.  I'll observe but not restrict as above.